A Mystical, Magical Travel Guide to Sedona

Health and wellness influencers everywhere seem to preach the power of diet, sleep, and beauty regimens to help us look and feel our best. But what about the power of a proper vacation? To Danielle DuBoise and Whitney Tingle, best friends since childhood and New York City–based cofounders of Sakara Life—a meal delivery service focusing on vibrant, organic, plant-based foods that just launched nationwide this spring—being deliberate about how and where they get away is part of their secret to staying balanced. “We really love to get outside of big city life and travel to places that allow us to feel like we’re learning something—about another culture, other philosophies, nature, architecture, and more,” Tingle says.

The bohemian-chic duo never tires of basking in the pink glow of Sedona, Arizona’s red rock canyons and its aura-obsessed, pleasantly frozen-in-time, hippie-dippie community. The city also happens to be their hometown.

“Sedona has a ton of healing energy,” says DuBoise, which is why she thinks New Age, spiritually open-minded migrants have probably been flocking there for decades. “It’s hard to explain, but being there brings whatever you have going on in the inside to the surface so that you have to deal with it.” The girls say the area offers both the primitive energy and pull of red rock hikes and canyon tours, plus kitschy cafés and trinket shops, local artist communities, and an array of healers and their own breed of eccentric methodologies. Since a visit there requires a flight into Phoenix and a two-hour drive (“rent a convertible to take in the cactus-clad views and ghost towns on the way,” DuBoise says), plan to stay three to four days for the full experience.

Here are 15 inspiring spots where the girls like to hike, heal, and hide away in old Sedona.

Crystal Magic
For everything from sage to tarot cards and turquoise jewelry made by local artisans, “Crystal Magic was my favorite store as a kid and still is now,” DuBoise says. On the way out, take a peek at the shop’s bulletin boards, which often introduce the girls to the area’s most unique healing sessions: “Sedona is full of healers who put up flyers to advertise their services,” DuBoise says. “I love to look at their boards and see what looks exciting.”

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Photo: Courtesy of Tlaquepaque

Tlaquepaque
“Weird, stoner-y, Sedona art” is the main draw at Tlaquepaque, an arts and crafts village from the ’70s nestled beneath some giant sycamore trees. “The owner’s vision was to re-create some of the sights of old Mexico in the design,” Tingle says. There are tiny art galleries spread throughout that individually feature things like paintings, sculptures, or handmade rugs and home decor, and you may even see some of the artists at work.

ChocolaTree
This 100 percent organic, grain-free, non-GMO restaurant is the duo’s favorite place to go for lunch or dinner. Follow DuBoise’s lead and order The Sedona 2012, a spicy tomato wrap with quinoa, stewed potatoes and carrots, and guacamole. Post-lunch you can lounge on a hammock in the backyard garden, where the owners grow some of the food. “I went there a month ago, and this guy was eating lunch just holding a baby goat,” DuBoise says.

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Cathedral Rock

Visits to the Vortexes
“The energy feels different in Sedona,” says Tingle, but especially in the vortexes—which are areas of nature, typically in the rock formations, which are said to have heightened or concentrated energy that you can palpably feel. Guided vortex tours or maps of the vortexes are available, or you could simply start with one or more of the most famous ones: Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon, and Airport Mesa. “For people who have a closed heart, you take them out into nature there, and they can have a heart-opening experience,” Tingle says.

Rinzai’s Market
This petite, hole-in-the-wall natural foods market has been around for 35 years, and their huge collection of healing oils, flower essences, minerals, and vitamins shows it. Tingle’s favorite recent purchase is a toothpaste made with colloidal silver. “It naturally balances good and bad bacteria in your mouth, which helps do the same for your overall microbiome.” That said, “If you don’t know what you’re looking for, just talk to the person working there.”

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Photo: Courtesy of Local Juicery

Local Juicery
Founded by a holistic nutritionist and raw food chef, this fresh-focused shop makes all-organic juices and smoothies with interesting add-ins like prickly pear, pine pollen, and moringa. “It’s right next door to one of our favorite hot yoga places, so we love to go to yoga first and then get a juice,” Tingle says.

Mariposa
One of Sedona’s coolest and most creative new restaurants, this high-end, Latin-inspired grill has an Argentinian parrilla and wood-fired oven. Set on a bluff overlooking Sedona’s red rocks, it offers outdoor seating and amazing 360-degree views, meaning there isn’t a bad seat in the house. “It’s the perfect place for watching the sun set over cocktails and staying for dinner,” says Tingle.

Indian Gardens Café and Market
Just four miles north of Sedona, this old-school general store is a stop along the Oak Creek Canyon National Scenic Byway—one of the most famous and photographed drives in not only Arizona but all of the U.S. “The café and market are a gathering place for locals,” Tingle says, “and it’s a great place for picking up picnic provisions before or after a hike.”

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Photo: Courtesy of Cowboy Club Grille and Spirits

Cowboy Club Grille and Spirits
“This is a very Sedona experience,” says DuBoise, who loves to revisit the Western memorabilia, saloon decor, and splurge on a basket of cactus fries at this locals’ favorite. Rattlesnake skewers and buffalo burgers make up a few of the novelty items on the menu. Afterward, take a three-minute walk to Sound Bites Showroom to see Anthony Mazzella, their favorite local guitarist, if he’s playing—“the room will be packed with hippies.”

L’Auberge de Sedona
DuBoise’s favorite resort in the area, L’Auberge has it all, from summer music series to a “hike house,” which helps you plan nearby excursions along Oak Creek (the hotel is nestled right in the banks of the creek). “I love renting the little cabins down by the water in particular,” says DuBoise, who stayed there when she got engaged.

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Photo: Courtesy of Dragonfly Sanctuary

Dragonfly Sanctuary
If you’re looking for quiet and that feeling of being away from it all, this private residence flanked with bamboo hedges and rock walls is available for rent through VRBO. Set on an acre of land with access to a wilderness preserve right on the property, it books up months in advance.

Briar Patch Inn
If it wouldn’t feel like a desert sleepover without the howls of coyotes and hyenas in the background; a little rustic cabin at Briar Patch Inn is the place to be. “Sedona has a dark sky policy—meaning all of the street lights face downward to keep the sky dark—and this is a great place to see all the stars,” Tingle says.

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Photo: Courtesy of Pink Jeep Tours

Pink Jeep Tours
“Danielle and I ride in my four-wheel-drive truck when we’re in town, but if you don’t have your own, then doing a pink jeep tour is the way to go off-roading.” Soak in views of the red rocks, learn about native plants and animals, and see the ancient ruins, with optional horseback rides to explore the trails even more deeply.

The Hangin Tree
One of several worthy stops in the shopping-centric section known as uptown Sedona, The Hangin Tree is a fun spot to pick up some souvenirs or knickknacks before leaving town. Tingle says, “I like to get slogans pressed onto T-shirts there and turn them into crop tops for friends.”